Treating roll mounting and roll drive



Sept. 4, 1951 J. E ERHARDT. JR

' TREATING ROLL MOUNTING AND om. DRIVE Original Filed Nov. 16, 1945 Y s sheets-Sheet 1 Jfohn E. Erharfli', Jr,

1 2,566,796 Sept. 4, 1951 J, E. 'ERHARDT. JR

TREATING ROLL MOUNTING- AND ROLL DRIVE Original Filed Nov. 16,1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR: -I hn EErhandZ', In,

41550 racy/J.

Patented Sept. 4, 1951 TREATING ROLL MOUNTING AND ROLL DRIVE John E. Erhardt, Jr., Baltimore, Md.

Original application November 16, 1945, Serial No. 629,029. Divided and this application May 25, 1949, Serial No. 95,744

3 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to treating roll mountings for use in strip treating apparatus. The application is a division of my application for Treating Roll Mountings and Roll Drives, filed November 16, 1945, Serial No. 629,029, now Patent No. 2,545,025.

Certain treatments given metal strip prior to coating the strip for use in containers, caps or the like, necessitate moving the strip through roll couples which apply a treating liquid to the strip. Such treating rolls readily become so coated with a hard, dried layer of the liquid that it is necessary to frequently clean them to maintain them in proper condition, as well as to avoid marring the strip. More particularly, if the process requires the use of resilient rolls, the building up of a hard layer of material on the rolls renders them non-resilient and will result in scratching or otherwise marring the strip. Prior systems of mounting the rolls have not permitted them to be readily removed without stopping movement of the strip. If the strip is also being moved through chemical baths, heating chambers or other elements in which it cannot be stopped without being injured by over-treatment, stoppage to remove rolls is highly undesirable. For that reason, efforts have been made to clean the rolls while they are in contact with the strip, as by holding abrasive cloth against them to remove the hardened coating. However, this gradual removal of the coating from point to point along the roll, together with the effect of such abrasive as is carried by the roll into contact with the strip, simply mars the surface of the strip; for example, by applying streaks to its surface.

An object of the invention is to provide mountings for treating rolls whereby the rolls of a' couple can be readily removed or withdrawn from contact with a moving strip.

The invention includes the provision of extra roll couples mounted in readiness for movement into contact with the strip when it becomes necessar to withdraw a couple. By this arrangement. the necessary number of couples can be maintained in contact with the strip at all times.

A further object is to provide means which will enable the rolls to be held under desired pressure against the strip and to insure return of the rolls to proper position after they have been withdrawn from contact with the strip.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following specification and accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a side elevation of the roll mounting of the present invention, an upper part of the figure being broken away to show such portion in vertical section.

Figure 2 is an elevation of the apparatus, the view showing the Figure 1 structure as viewed toward the left of the latter figure, and

Figure 3 shows the left-hand portion of the Figure 2 structure on the line 3--3 of Figure 2.

As best shown in Figure 2, the apparatus includes spaced vertical beams l0 and H braced intermediate their height by rod i2. At their upper ends, the beams support the bearings for a large roll I3 extending between the beams. The strip S to be treated moves from the top-left in Figure 1 over roll 13 and thence downwardly between the beams Ill and I I. The strip is movedv by suitable pinch rolls, not shown. At points spaced along its height, the beam l9 has brackets or roll mountings i4 secured thereto and, at correspondingly spaced points, the beam li carries. brackets or roll mountings I5. The brackets 14. carried by beam in cooperate with the horizontally aligned brackets i5 carried by beam H to support the bearings of a vertical series of 0p-- posed treating rolls It and IT provided with a resilient surface material.

As best shown in Figure 2, the brackets l4 andv 15 are. each provided with top walls l8 projecting toward the center of the apparatus, side walls l9 secured to the beams, and bottom Walls 20 which also extend toward the center of the apparatus. Each top wall includes a depending slideway 2| while each bottom wallincludes an upwardly projecting slidewa 22. The treating rolls [6 include stub-shafts at each end which are supported in and extend through bearing housings 2312. Each roll I! is similarly mounted in bearing housings 23a, a roll [6 and a roll I? forming a roll couple. The upper and lower surfaces of the bearing housings are grooved to fit the slideways 2| and 22. Each upper slideway 2! hassuch length as to accommodate and engage the grooves of both associated bearing housings 23a and 23b when the two rolls are positioned together as indicated by the three lower r011 couples of Figure 1. However, the lower slideways are sufficiently long that when the rolls l6 and I! are moved apart to a position such as shown at the top of Figure 1 the bearing housing grooves will still be in engagement with that slideway.

At its left hand end, as viewed in Figure 1, the bottom wall 20 of each bracket i4 and 45 has a stop arm 24 pivoted thereto as indicated at 25. Each stop arm has a set screw 26 threaded therethrough. Each stop arm is locked in vertical position by pins 21 which extend through two spaced and apertured lugs 28 at the free end of the arm and which straddle 9. lug 29 carried by the top wall 18 of each bracket. When a stop arm is in this vertical position, the left hand roller [1 (Figure 1) is fixed against movement away from the strip S, the set screw 26 serving to limit the movement of the bearing housing and roller away from the strip. A lock nut is carried by each set screw 26 to hold it in adjusted position.

Each right hand roller 16 (Figure. 1) has its bearing housings 231) connected to pistons 30 operable in cylinders 3i secured to the lower walls 20 of the brackets l5. As shown in Figure 3, each piston includes a T-head 3011 which engages a vertically extending r-socket in the housing. When fluid under pressure of two hundred pounds, for example, is supplied to a cylinder 3| to move the pistons and corresponding roller It to the left in Figure 1, the roller will bear up-= on the strip S and will exert suflic-ient force, with the roller Ii, to apply treating material to either or both sides of the strip. As has been explained above, the position or each roller I! will be maintained by the set screws 26' when its stop arms 24 are. in vertical position and locked by the pins 21.

The treating fluid is supplied to each pair of rolls by liquid suppl pipes 32, two such pipes beingpositioned above each pair of rolls so that onepipe will deliver liquid to the trough formed between a roll [6 and the strip and the other pipe will deliver liquid to the trough between the other side 01 the strip and the roll l1. If it is only desired to treat one surface of the strip, the pipe. 3-2 on one side will be omitted. The ends of the pipes 32 are preferably located midway between the 'ends, of the rolls so that surplus liquid may flow toward the ends of the rolls and fall into a tray 33 secured. to the bottom wall 29 of each bracket (4 and i5. Each tray 33' has'an overflow pipe 34 extending downwardly therefrom tothe next lower tray- 33 so that the liquid is eventual- 1y carried downwardly to a treating bath, not shown, through which the strip movesafter passing through the series of roll couples: As best shown inFigure 3, the inner side-of each tray 33 is'notched as indicated at. 3'5, this notch providing' clearance i'orthe' edge of the'strip'. The notch as well as the edges of the tray include upstanding-- side walls.

With the rolls under suitable pressure, the treating liquid willbe applied to'the surface pf the moving strip to give itthe desired characteristics. For example, thetreating-liquid' maybe a fluid which will prepar'e'thesurface of" the metal for better adhesion of laequers', pair1tsor'lithog, raphy to the same. The rolls H3 and "I1 will be rotated to apply the treating liquid by reason of" their tight engagement with the moving strip", the liquid being applied to-the strip by'the'pre'ssure exerted upon the rolls by the cylinders 3-1.

The treating liquid causes a. coating of hard crystalline nature to build upon the treating rolls It and I1 and unless this, coating-is removed" from time totime, it'willmar the-surfacexofthestrip. When the'roll's forming a couple become so coated as to require cleaning; the holding pressure may be releasedfrom the cylinders 31' at each end of the roll I6 of that couple: and pressuresupplied to the cylinders to: retract the pistons 30' to thereby move-the roll lfi'to the positi'on illustrated at the'top Figure: I andalso shown in Figure 3'. In this position, the bearing;

blocks- 23o at each end-of'ToIP-IB are still sup ported on the lower slideways 22 but they are clear 01 the upper slideway 2| and the roll stubshafts are clear of the beams 10 and II. With the roll 16 in this position, the stub-shaft at its left-hand end (Figure 2) may be connected to a driving motor for rotation as hereinafter described. Alternatively, if it is desired to entirely remove the roll and replace it, its bearing housings 2312 may be disconnected from the pistons 30 by lifting the housings so as to disengage their T'-shaped slots from the T-heads 30a of the pistons.

The other roll H of each couple may be moved out of contact with the strip S by removing the pin 2'7 from the stop arm 24 engaging each housing 23a so that the stop arm may drop to the horizontal position shown at the top of Figure 1. A downwardl projecting extension 40 on each stop arm will abut against the adjacent'end of the associated bracket M or P5 to limit the downward movement of the stop arm as shown in Figure 1. The roll l1 may then be moved by hand to the position shown in Figure 3 and at the top of Figure 1 so that it will be clear of the strip Sand its tub shafts will be beyond the edges of the beams Iii and H for engagement with the driving motor as hereinafter explained. However, its bearing housings will still engage the lower slideways 22. If it is necessary to replace the roll El, it can be moved still further outward- 1y upon the stop arm 2'! so that it can be lifted clear of the lugs 2% The drivin motor structure referred to above is illustrated in Figures 2 and 3 and is generally designated by the numeral 4|. In order to support this structure, a vertical beam 42 is provided alongside of and spaced from the beam H. A vertically extending plate 43 includes flanges 44' to embrace the edges of beam #2, the plate being. vertically slidable on the beam. A cable 45 extends over a pulley 46 journalled near the top of: beam 42', one end or the cable carrying a counterweight 41 and the other end being secured to base plate-43 as indicated at 45:. The base plate 43' includes an outwardly projecting aperture'd boss 59 in which a, set screw 58 is threaded; A collar 5| isrotatable on set screw 50 and this col-- lar is integral with .a carrier plate 52 .to which an electric motor 53 is secured. .As is" described iii-said original application, Serial No. 629,029, the-motor 5-3 may be: swung-to place its drive shaft 51 in alignment witheither or the rolls ['6 and IT of a pair. In addition, the motor structure It may be moved vertically of. beam 52 to align it with any of the roll couples of Figure 1, the motor being secured in the desired position by threading-the set screw 50 into engagement with sockets 58 formed in beam 42. Tightening a lock nut 59 on the 'set screw will clamp thecollar 5| of plate 52 in either of the two positions of the motor:

The motor structure if includes areduction gearingto drive the shaft 51 and shaft 5'! is connected to an outer shaft 60 bye, universal connection 8| At its'outer end, the shaft 60' has'a fitting 62 slidable thereon, fitting 62 being pro vi'ded with a; pair of pins 63'adapted to engage recesses 64' formed in the outer 'ends' of the stub shafts extending from the rollers I '6 and H. For example, as shown in Figure 3, the roll [6 may berotated' from the motor structure" 4'! with. the

roller free of the strip S; By driving; the roll l8- and moving a sheet of'abrasive cloth along the surface of the roll, any crystalline coating may be 'r'emoveti from the roll, the removed coating and. abrasive simply'falling. down into the treatment tank where they cannot be forced against the strip. The electric motor may be supplied with current from flexible cable trained over a second pulley, not shown, mounted on the beam 42.

By swinging the motor structure U as described in said original application shaft 51 will be in alignment with the other roll I! of the same couple,

The weight of the rolls I6 and I1 and their roll mountings, together with the frictional engagement of the mountings with the lower slideways, will prevent the rolls from moving with respect to the slideways when they are in the non-strip engaging position shown at th top of Figure l and are being rotated by motor 53. In addition, if the abrasive cloth is pressed downwardly on the rolls, they will be held even more firmly against movement with respect to the slideways.

A suflicient number of treating roll pairs are provided in the Figure 1 structure to enable at least one pair to be kept out of contact with the strip and yet have enough other pairs available for contact with the strip. By this system, it will not be necessary to stop the strip to enable any pair to be cleaned.

The terminology used in the specification is for the purpose of description and not of limitation, the scope of the invention being defined inthe claims.

I claim:

1. In an apparatus of the class described, means to move a strip in a predetermined path,

a roll mounting extending transversely to said ing members when the latter are out of engagement with the upper slideways.

2. In an apparatus of the class described, means to move a strip in a predetermined path, a roll mounting extending transversely to said path at each edge of said path, a pair of rolls, each roll including bearing members supported on the respective mountings, each mounting including an upper and a lower slideway, each bearing member including upper and lower portions formed to engage said slideways, the upper slideways having a length sufficient to engage the bearing members when the rolls are in contact with the strip and the lower slideways having suflicient length to support and engage the bearing members when the latter are out of engagement with the upper slideways, and means at one end of the lower slideways to limit movement of the bearing members along th slideways, said last-named means being movable to a position to support bearing members at a point beyond the ends of the lower slideways.

3. In an apparatus of the class described, means to move a strip in a predetermined path, a pair of rolls, a hearing at each end of each roll, a pair of mounting elements on each side of the strip path and each including a pair of opposed slideways extending transversely of the strip path to respectively receive the bearing at the adjacent end of the corresponding r011, said bearings being slidable in said slideways, means on the mounting element at one side of the strip path to maintain its roll under pressure toward the strip, and means on the other mounting element to limit movement of the corresponding roll away from the strip path, said last-named means being movable to a position to support its roll in spaced relation with respect to the strip path.

JOHN E. ERHARDT, JR.

REFERENCES CITED The, following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 488,025 Norton et a1. Dec. 13, 1892 2,384,695 Quinn et all Sept. 11, 1945 

